Case Number 16863

Eldorado

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All Rise...

Judge Joel Pearce likes to drive around in his 1978 Chevy Vega.

The Charge

Woo! Belgian road trip!

Opening Statement

If there's anything we've learned from decades of road movies, it's that
strange things happen when you get out on the open road. You meet strange
people, have quirky adventures, and ultimately, you probably find yourself.
Evidently, this is also true in Belgium.

Facts of the Case

Yvan (Bouli Lanners, A Very Long
Engagement) arrives home one night from his job as an American classic car
importer to discover Didier (Fabrice Adde, L'insurgée), a young robber,
hiding under his bed. Once they wait each other out, they find themselves on a
strange journey to return Didier to his home near the French border. It won't
turn out to be the simple journey they had expected.

The Evidence

Eldorado is ostensibly an indie road-trip movie, the likes of which
we've been seeing for decades. It features two main characters with little in
common, on a trip that neither of them wants to make. On the way, they find
themselves in bizarre circumstances, and run into genuinely strange characters.
Tonally, it's not much different than what we've seen before either, featuring a
strange mix of dry humor, existential musings and pathos.

Somehow, though, it feels much fresher than it should, given it's generic
setup and structure. I think a large part of this is cultural. Lanners has done
some interesting things with Belgian and American culture here. While it takes
place in Belgium, Lanners makes no attempt to hide his American influences. It
is named after the Chevy Eldorado that Yvan drives, and he sells imported
American cars. The soundtrack features several American indie songs. If it
weren't for the language, Eldorado could be transplanted into almost any part of
North America. Ironically, the Eldorado was a Cadillac, not a Chevy, which must
have been intentional. I'm not sure what that means, though.

That said, I'm not promising American audiences will forget they are
watching a French film. There's something distinctly European about the
aesthetic of the film, especially as each character reaches the end of their
journey. In American cinema, we expect a film like this to finish with humor and
catharsis, or else lead to ultimate nihilism and self-destruction like Thelma and Louise. Here, the
characters are still full of ambiguity, and many viewers will be troubled by
where Eldorado goes.

For fans of indie and festival films, though, there's a lot to like about
Eldorado. It has an interesting look delivered with some great
cinematography, a pair of fascinating and well-performed main characters, and it
doesn't overstay its welcome at 80 minutes long. Film Movement has made a good
choice as part of its festival series. For the uninitiated, Film Movement
releases a single festival film each month. If that sounds interesting to you,
Eldorado would be a good place to start.

The DVD is fairly technically solid as well. The film is presented in
anamorphic widescreen, in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The color
transfer is excellent, with a surprising level of vibrancy. The clarity isn't as
strong, with some compression throughout and some noticeable edge enhancement.
The sound is fine, though it is only presented in a stereo track. In terms of
special features, there is a Swiss short film called Icebergs, which
features some of the funniest slang translation that I have ever seen. Beyond
that, we don't get much (a commentary would have been nice).

Closing Statement

For the right viewers, Eldorado will really strike a chord. It's a
fine piece of filmmaking and a clever little road trip movie. For those
expecting something like Road Trip,
however, I would recommend staying on this side of the Atlantic. It's still a
European art movie at heart.